Phoenix Fire
by The JP
Summary: Harry Potter/Max Ride crossover Mainly HP . Jonathan Parker was never exactly normal, but then a surprise visit from Professor McGonagall sends him off to Hogwarts! What challenges will he face there? During Book 1, onward from there. T for safety
1. Chapter 1: Strange Visitor

**Hey, what do you know, I decided to do a Harry Potter fanfic! Amazing that I've relegated myself to MR, considering when each Harry Potter book following the fourth (which is when I got into the series) came out, I sequestered myself away in my room for hours until I had finished reading it… and then proceeded to re-read it the next day AND the following… So now I'm going to write a Harry Potter/Maximum Ride crossover fic. No, I'm not doing any of the clichés, like "Max + Flock wind up in England and *bang* are wizards/witches! No, I'm making a new OC from the Maximum Ride universe, and implanting him into the Harry Potter verse… with hopefully good results. As usual, R&R.**

**Disclaimer: I only own original characters. There. Happy? Good.**

************************************************

I was sitting on top of Big Ben again. Interesting that I considered England my home; I'm American by birth, speak English with and American accent, and don't use British mannerisms at all, and yet I live in London of all places. Go figure.

I always sat on top of Big Ben while thinking about the world, about my past, about the future. My past was horrifying, and so torturous that I would not wish it on my worst enemy, no matter who they may be.

Oh yeah, I guess introductions are a good thing, aren't they? Name's Jonathan Parker. Or so my file said, anyways. I gave myself the nicknames Phoenix and Flame, because those two names pretty much described me. And so a little more about myself is in order.

Ever heard of recombinant DNA experiments? Nope, you probably don't. Anyways, that's what I am: a cross of some previously unknown bird and a human. I don't know what bird I was crossed with, butmy wings have scarlet and gold feathers on them that gleam in the sunlight. Unfortunately, I was shorter than most eleven-year-old avian hybrids: only about four foot ten. But that's life, now isn't it?

I was born in a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. According to my file, I'm a twin: I have a normal, human twin sister living somewhere in the US of A. Anyways, back to me. I was abducted, and the sick, depraved doctors told my parents I'd died shortly after birth. In actuality, I was sent to a place called the Institute to be experimented on. When I got there, they injected me with a primer that shucked off 2% of my human genes with whatever unknown bird they'd somehow secured and anesthetized.

I lived in that hellhole for ten and a half years, enduring torture every single day that would make the most grizzled and hardened war veteran weep. But after the age of five, when the only other hybrid I considered friendly died, I had not let a single cry of pain escape my lips. No tears, no crying out, no yelps, no nothing. My pain tolerance was unheard of; it was almost as if I couldn't feel pain anymore. Almost… my body registered pain, but I didn't react to it anymore. The scientists couldn't figure me out. They changed all their tests to torture tests; they wanted to see how much pain I could bear.

Eventually they made their mistake. It came in the form of putting me in an incinerator. As soon as I was put down in the incinerator, I didn't feel the heat. It was burning hot enough to destroy a corpse, but I felt nothing. I thought I'd finally lost all sensitivity in my nerves when I noticed the fire circling my hands. It engulfed them, but they weren't burning. All the fire in the incinerator converged on me, and it took me over. I wound up destroying the entire Institute by burning it to the ground; that was one year ago.

Immediately after having fled the ruins, and somehow learning how to fly with absolutely no prior experience, a strange bird appeared in front of me while I was in the process of leaning up against a tree. It looked like a swan, but it had the same crimson and gold feathers as I did. It had a strange wrist guard in its talons, and I don't know why, but it put the wrist guard on my left wrist. The object was incredibly ornate: it was worked in some form of hardened gold (I tried biting it to see if it was real gold… it was bent, but the metal snapped back) and had a crimson gemstone with a phoenix carved onto it in the middle.

Next thing I knew, the bird landed on my shoulder, and we disappeared in a burst of flames, reappearing in none other than London, England. And so I'd been living here for the past year: stealing what food and supplies I needed, and making a quick getaway before anybody could find me. Ah, the joys of being a mutant hybrid: enhanced speed, strength, agility, and _flight_. You can't beat that.

So imagine my surprise when I hear a cat meow at me while I'm sunning myself on top of Big Ben. I made sure my wings were pulled in: if a news chopper saw me they'd just say some crazy prankster had somehow made it up there.

I shooed the cat away. "Go away kitty. I'm not quite sure how you got up here, but if there are two things I don't like, they're wolves and cats."

"And if there's one thing I don't like, it's obnoxious, American preteens." I very nearly jumped out of my skin. I got up, and lo and behold, some older lady was standing next to me. She was wearing very nice, fancy robes, and… a witch hat? I tried hard to stifle a laugh.

"Who are you, how did you get up here, and how did you know I'm American… besides the accent." She didn't answer. Instead, she reached into the folds of her robes and withdrew a letter. I took the note and ripped it open, feasting my eyes upon the strangeness that was inside.

**You have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

And I stopped reading right there. I put the letter down, looked at the lady, looked at the letter, looked at the lady again, and was stumped. "Please tell me this is some kind of practical joke…"

"No, Mister Parker, it is not. You are, in fact, a wizard. You happen to be one of the few wizard candidates that I have personally had to track down. You have no address, and you never stayed in one place, so it's understandable that—"

"Yeah yeah, yadda yadda, whatever. This sounds better than living on the streets of London. Where do I sign up and get this…" I looked at the list of supplies, "interesting requirement of objects?"

The woman smiled at me. "First, my name is Professor McGonagall. I am the Transfigurations professor at Hogwarts. Now, if you will hold on tight to my arm, I will take you to Diagon Alley, where you can purchase your school supplies."

Cautiously, I reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "Okay where's tha—whoa!" Before I could finish my sentence, I felt something tugging at me, and closed my eyes. This was making me nauseous… and I'm never nauseous! I opened my eyes… and saw a dead end.

"You would do well to remember which brick I press," Professor McGonagall said. She went over to the wall, and pushed a brick in. It sunk far back and moved out of the way. Instantaneously, all the brick completely peeled away from the wall, leaving open an entrance to a shopping district.

"Whoa…" was all I could say. I had never seen anything like this before. There were people running to and fro, with bags levitating behind them, carrying broomsticks, cages with animals in them, etcetera. "Well, um, where to first?"

Professor McGonagall smiled slightly. "We shall stop by Ollivander's first. There, we shall find you a wand." Okay… this was turning into a fairy tale real fast. I pinched myself, fully expecting to wake up. Nope, this was real. I could still feel my wings against my back, so I knew this was real. I checked my left wrist; the vambrace (that's what I had taken to calling it over the past year) was still there. Yep, definitely reality. If you could call it that…

As we approached Ollivander's, I saw some really big, tall guy that looked inhumanly tall (even by my standards) and a boy about my age with green eyes, glasses, and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead pass by. Professor McGonagall said a word of acknowledgement to the man, so softly that I shouldn't have been able to hear it if I was a normal human. I learned the big guy's name: Hagrid. Interesting… I'd have to save that for later. I didn't know who the kid with him was, but something about him seemed… I don't know, important. My gut was giving me a feeling that I'd be wise to get to know him, and after ten years of having it keep me alive, I learned to trust my gut's instincts.

I stepped into Ollivander's, and was greeted by a strange old man who I presumed was Ollivander himself.

"So this one has come for a wand? Yes, yes, I shall find him one…" His voice trailed off; one of the boxes on a shelf was rattling. His eyes had gone wide for some reason. Suddenly, the box opened, and a wand flew out of it. I reached out with my superior reflexes and grabbed it in midair. Professor McGonagall was incredibly impressed with this display apparently, because she let out a golf clap. Ollivander turned to me.

"That wand… 13", torchwood, with the core being a tail feather from the ancestral mother of all phoenixes… I have wondered when that wand would react to a young wizard. It seems that it has finally chosen its wielder." He let out a small bow. "You may have that wand free of charge. I have been trying to sell it for well over two decades now, and I feel that you are worthy of wielding it. Have a good day, Mister…"

"Parker," I said. "Jonathan Parker."

"Ah, yes… good day, Mister Parker. Farewell." He turned around, and went back to whatever he had been doing. I went over to McGonagall. Seemed the bookstore for my textbooks was next.

As I walked in, I bumped into some pale skinned boy with blond hair, and the books all fell from his arms.

"You there! I demand you pick up my books and hand them to me this instant!" What the heck? Who did this kid think he was?

"And who's going to make me, twerp?" He really was a twerp; I had a good four inches on him, so I stared down at him, with as much malice as I could muster, which trust me, was a lot.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?"

"A spoiled brat with no manners and no concept of how to treat other people?"

"What is your accent? I can swear I've heard it, but the answer eludes me."

"I'm American. Name's Jonathan Parker, and don't you forget it."

"Draco Malfoy." He reached out his hand, and I shook it. "Just make the right choice at Hogwarts, and join the Slytherin house. It's where all the _real_ wizards go." He gathered up his books, and walked off. What his problem was, I don't know…

***********************************************

"You're telling me to run into this wall?" I looked up at Professor McGonagall. I thought she was trying to pull a fast one on me, but her look was one of utter seriousness. I turned back around, and saw a couple of redheads running into the wall… and disappearing through it. Huh? That's strange… the last person to go through the wall looked just like that other boy I'd seen coming out of Ollivander's… maybe it was the same person?

I took a deep breath, and ran through the wall. I opened my eyes on the other side… and saw a new platform. It read _Platform 9 ¾,_ and had a train docked called the Hogwarts Express. Professor McGonagall came in after me.

"So, I assume I'm getting on this train?"

"Yes, Mister Parker. Now hurry along; you don't want it to leave without you, now do you?" I nodded at her, and got on the train. And now I was off to the first place that I could actually call my home…


	2. Chapter 2: Train Ride and Sorting

**Hehe, chapter two! Here, we'll have the train ride to Hogwarts and the sorting hat! I hope you all enjoy… Should be getting better by the time I get to the brooms and Remembrall scene.**

**Disclaimer: You already know this for crying out loud! I don't own any of the cannon characters, only the OC's are mine!**

******************************************************

Damn, this train was HUGE! I was looking around for an empty compartment, but most of them were filled up already. All the people were looking at me kind of funny. Must've been my hair. It's a really weird cross of crimson and gold, just like my feathers, so it looks really strange. I don't care though; I think it's pretty damn cool. Besides, I keep it slightly longer so that I appear more like a bird when flying, down to my chin.

I finally came to a compartment that _wasn't_ filled. In it, I saw a red-head, one of the ones who I saw running through the wall, and also the boy who I'd seen coming out of Ollivander's at Diagon Alley. I knocked on the door to the compartment, and opened it up, getting their attention.

"There still some room in here?" They nodded, and beckoned me inside. I took a seat next to the boy with glasses, and introduced myself. "My name's Jonathan Parker. What are yours?"

"Ron Weasley," the red-head said. I heard a barely audible squeak come from inside his jacket. A rat, maybe? I remember the supply list saying you could have a pet…

"Harry Potter," the boy with glasses said. I shook his hand, and when I turned to Ron, he was staring at me with his mouth agape.

"What? Did I do something?"

"You don't know who Harry Potter is? The Boy who Lived?" I was genuinely confused now. I shook my head. "Harry's the only wizard to ever survive the killing curse from Lord Voldemort! He's a bloody hero!" Oh, great, just what I needed. My first friend happens to always be in the limelight…

"Oh, do you two want to see a spell?" We nodded, but I also heard footsteps coming up the aisle of the train.Ron pulled out his wand, and then some brunette opened the door.

"You're doing magic? Can I watch?" Ron gulped, nodded, and pulled a rat out of his jacket. I was right! He pointed the wand at the rat, and started saying the spell.

"_Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!_" The spell certainly didn't turn said rat yellow; all that happened was a small spark jumped off the end of the wand and shocked the rat on the nose.

"Is that even a real spell? Here, I'll show you one." She pulled out her wand, and pointed it at Harry's glasses. "_Reparo._" A small flash came off the end of her wand, and the tape on Harry's glasses fell off. He took them off, and checked them out, when the girl gasped. "Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger by the way." We all introduced ourselves, and when she shook my hand, she snuck a glance at my left wrist. "Jonathan, your accent. Is that American?"

"Where's your hammer, because you hit the nail on the head." She let out a small giggle at that. "Yes, I'm American. I've been living in London for a year now though."

"With who? Your family?" That was Hermione again. I kind of averted my eyes, a downcast expression on my face.

"I… never knew my family. All I know about them is that they live in the States, and that I supposedly have a twin sister who lives with them." How the hell am I supposed to say everything and nothing all at once? "I was… abducted when I was just a baby." I didn't tell them by whom. Magic may exist, but what I am isn't supposed to. All three of them gave me their condolences, when I heard the door to the compartment open.

"Hey!" I said. "I recognize you… you're the obnoxious twerp that wanted me to pick up his books for him! Draco, right?"

"Yes, you lewd American. I'm Draco Malfoy, and these two are Crabbe and Goyle." He glanced over at Harry. "Everybody knows you already, you're Harry Potter. I hope you make the right choice and go to Slytherin." He walked away.

"Okay, I'm confused here. What's Slytherin?" Ron's jaw dropped again when I said that.

"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw are the four houses of Hogwarts, named after the founders," Hermione explained. "They act as your dormitory, and each house has its own portion of the castle." Castle? Castles meant parapets. Parapets meant stark drops. Stark drops meant good flying. Fun fun…

"So, how do we know which one we're in?"

"That's the Sorting Hat's job!" Ron exclaimed loudly. Huh? I let a confused expression cross my face. "The Sorting Hat reads your thoughts, and depending on your character it chooses a house for you!" Oh great. So some talking hat is going to determine whether I'll be able to stay with my new friends? Great…

"I see the castle!" I heard Hermione call out. "Let's put on our robes."

****************************************************

The four of us were in a boat leading up the Hogwarts. We had been in carriages drawn by strange, spectral horses with wings, and when I tried to point them out to the others Hermione quickly answered that they were drawn by magic. I tried to argue with her, but it failed miserably. I had to keep my temper in check so I didn't light anything on fire. Oops, forgot to mention that ever since the incinerator incident, I've had profound pyrokinesis. I can create and control fire. It's tons of fun, but I can't figure out some stuff with it, like I can't use it to slow a fall or run faster, but oh well.

We were all lined up outside of a pair of _huge_ doors that were probably forty or fifty feet high. If nobody were here I'd fly up and see, but I'd rather not let everybody here see that I'm even freakier than anybody first thought. But when the doors opened, my mouth dropped as far as it could go without actually falling off of my face.

The Great Hall was downright incredible. The ceiling was charmed to look like the night sky, and there were four tables on the floor area, each filled with students. Each of the tables had a banner hanging above it: one with a griffin, the next with a raven, the third with a badger, and the final one with a cobra. I could only guess that the griffin was Gryffindor, and that the snake was Slytherin. Ravenclaw was the bird, which meant Hufflepuff was the badger. Interesting!

I saw an elderly man in blue robes, a wizard hat, and half-moon glasses stand up at the front table, where I saw Professor McGonagall and Hagrid. When he stood up, everybody fell silent. He began speaking.

"Welcome to Hogwarts for yet another year. This year, I would like to introduce your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell." A meek, timid-looking man stood up, stammered a hello, and sat back down. There was something funny about him… the turban maybe? "Also, the third floor is off limits this year. Anybody who is found there will be sentenced to detention immediately. And now, for the sorting of the first years!"

Next thing I knew, one of the professors placed an old hat on a stool in the middle of the hall. I stifled a laugh when the hat started to talk.

_Oh you may not think me pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_if you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folks use any means _

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_And don't get in a flap! _

_You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

Once it was finished with its speech, Professor McGonagall pulled out a long sheet of parchment, and started calling everybody up. Crabbe, one of Malfoy's buddies, wound up in Slytherin before the hat touched his head.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione went up to the stool, and the hat was placed on her head. After a few seconds, a resounding cry was heard through the hall.

"Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table exploded in applause, and Hermione bounded over to the table, sitting down.

"Malfoy, Draco!" Draco went up, and the hat was two inches away from his head when it cried out "Slytherin!" Said table went up in applause, and Draco strutted off, obviously very pleased with himself.

"Parker, Jonathan!" I gave a gulp. I walked up to the hat, very, very slowly before I noticed my footfalls weren't making any noise. No wonder they were staring at me… I loosened up my steps and actually made noise. I got up to the stool, and placed the hat on my head, when a voice started talking to me.

"_Hmm… this is a strange one… you have experienced that which nobody your age should ever have to go through… and yet, through it all, you have stayed strong, true, and fearless. Yes, I know exactly where you belong…"_ The voice vanished, and the hat yelled out to the hall. "Gryffindor!"

A huge applause rang out through the hall as I moved to the Gryffindor table. I saw two people who looked like they could be related to Ron come and clap me on the back. "Congratulations on Gryffindor! I'm Fred, and he's George."

"No, actually I'm Fred and he's George." Oh, great.

"I'm going to guess both Weasley? You look like Ron." They nodded and chuckled. They were up to something…

"Potter, Harry!" Every single conversation in the hall stopped completely. I looked at Harry very, very intently. I saw his lips moving, and barely caught the words: "Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin." About twenty seconds passed before the Hat spoke.

"It seems the choice is final. It can only be… GRYFFINDOR!" We all erupted into applause. The Slytherins were scowling as best they could, while all of us were going crazy. Harry sat down next to me, so I had Hermione on my left and Harry on my right. A few more people went through the line before Ron was called. The hat wasn't even close to his head when it called out "Gryffindor!" We all applauded. My three friends were all in the same house with me. Could it get any better?


	3. Chapter 3: Potions Makes me Catatonic

**Hehe… Thanks to my first reviewer, Quetzalcoatls, and since he urged me to get the next chapter up soon, it is here. Oh, just as an advance notice: When I finally get around to the troll scene, I'm subtly changing it so that the troll made its way up to the 3****rd**** floor, and Jonathan and Hermione get chucked out the window by Trolley von Troll. All in good fun though.**

**Disclaimer: I only own original characters. Happy? Good.**

***********************************************

If my jaw were not firmly attached to my face, it would be rolling around on the floor right now.

We had just gotten to the Gryffindor common room, and this was definitely the most luxurious place I had ever seen in my life. There was a crackling fireplace with sofas, tables, love seats, and armchairs positioned all over the place. There were bathrooms, a shower area, and fourteen different doors that led to sleeping quarters. I immediately picked up a trunk that happened to have my name on it with my left hand, dashed over to the door that said "First Year Boys" on it, and dashed over to the bed closest to the window. Which brings me to the beds.

These people gave us freaking four-poster beds! I was incredibly amazed. I had never had a bed to call my own in my _life_, and now I had one hell of a luxurious one. Talk about from rags to riches!

I turned around to head back out to the common room, when I saw Harry and Ron both struggling with their trunks. I grabbed them both, and placed them on the two other beds closest to the window. Ron was dumbstruck… almost.

"Bloody hell, mate! How did you lift those things with one hand?" I shrugged.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look." Harry gave me a weird look, but began unpacking.

After the prefect (who happened to be Ron's brother Percy) gave us the speech on rules and regulations, I grabbed my schedule, comparing it to Ron's and Harry's. Wow, we shared all of our classes! I bet Hermione did also…

I was smitten with our living quarters. I grabbed a change of clothes, went over to the showers… and did a double take. They were _communal showers_. For those who can't tell what that means for me, it means that I have to take a shower at a separate time from everybody else so nobody happens to notice the gold and crimson wings pulled up tight against my back! I ducked my head back out to the common room; nobody was coming in. Perfect. I took a quick shower (they provided soap, shampoo, the works) and went back out in a red undershirt and red sweatpants. Percy Weasley came over to me.

"It seems we already have a true Gryffindor patriot in you, Mister Parker."

"Naw, red and gold are my favorite colors, that's all," I said, trying to appear modest. I wasn't even trying to wear Gryffindor colors, and it didn't help that my hair and wings were that color also.

"Either way, it certainly identifies you as one of us. Welcome to Hogwarts. Off to bed with you, though, it's lights out for the First Years." I nodded to Percy, ran up to our living quarters, got into my bed, and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

***********************************************

I woke up early the next morning, roughly five o'clock. Everybody around me was sleeping thankfully, so I got out of my bed very, very slowly. Damn, that thing was warm… and comfortable… did I mention warm already?

There was a secondary purpose to having had my bed near the window: I could get to it without fear of waking anybody up. I grabbed my wand, and shoved it into the zipper pocket of a sports jacket that I put on, with requisite slits in the back, just like my shirt. I weaseled my way over to the window, and did a quick look around to make sure nobody else was awake. I saw Harry stir slightly, and could have sworn his eyes cracked open subtly. But when I saw nothing out of the ordinary, I opened up the window, and pulled it closed once I was outside of it.

There was a stark drop outside of the Gryffindor tower. I made sure I remembered where this specific window was, and jumped off. I let myself free-fall for a few seconds, then I snapped open my wings, and started flying.

My 12-foot wingspan was carrying me swiftly through the sky surrounding Hogwarts. I had tied my long hair (somehow it had grown down to an inch below my chin overnight… stinking Fred and George Weasley) back into a ponytail so that it stayed out of my eyes, but if anybody saw me with my hair like that I would never hear the end of it. I avoided every single window, and instead flew to the highest parapet on Hogwarts.

I sat myself down on the parapet, tucked in my wings, and gazed out, enjoying the view. It was magnificent, and I would have spent another hour just staring out when I saw a burst of flame in the corner of my vision. I turned quickly, and saw Headmaster Dumbledore appear, with a bird perched on his shoulder.

My eyes went wide. That bird… that's the one that brought me to England over a year ago! I was about to stammer something when Headmaster Dumbledore started talking.

"Well, Mister Parker, fancy meeting you out here, and so early at that. Is Hogwarts to your liking?"

"Um, uh… yes; actually, this is probably the nicest place I have ever seen in my life! But, uh, Headmaster, if you don't mind my asking, what kind of bird is that? I recognize that bird from somewhere, and I've seen a second, similar one before, when I was just a baby. But that specific one…"

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said, "it seems you have already met my pet phoenix, Fawkes, before. He is the one who gave you your wrist guard and brought you to England, is he not?" I was amazed. How did he know?

"Y-yes, he is! Uh, anyways, I should probably be heading back to the Gryffindor quarters by now." I was quick to end this line of conversation before I let slip too much.

"Yes you should, my boy. Allow me to give you a lift, as you Americans might say." He put his hand on my shoulder, and the flames engulfed me again. This time, I wound up in the Gryffindor common room.

"Uh… Thank you, Headmaster." He nodded at me kindly, much like a grandfather would, and the he and Fawkes disappeared.

My head was spinning. I remember seeing a bird similar to Fawkes as a baby, when the whitecoats pulled a syringe's worth of stuff out of it, put it through some weird mixer, and then injected the resultant product in me. I put two and two together, and came a stunning realization: the two percent avian genes in me were _phoenix_ DNA. That would explain everything: the coloration of my feathers and hair, the pyrokinesis, and how I'm stronger than any other avian hybrid they'd ever created, because I'd read somewhere that phoenixes can lift unusually heavy loads without trouble. But could I accomplish that fiery teleportation Fawkes did?

I didn't have time to mull it over, because right then Fred and George appeared out of nowhere, and clapped me on the back. "Morning!" they both said simultaneously.

"Hey guys! Did you two have anything to do with my hair growing two inches overnight?" My question was met by much snickering and chuckling from the twins. Yep, they sure did. Boy, would I get them later…

**************************************************

Breakfast had been amazing, just like dinner last night. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all stared at me incredulously when they saw the amount of food I had piled onto my plate, wolfed down, and then re-piled. "What?" I mumbled to them through a mouth full of food. The three of them turned away, back to their much smaller plates of food.

When we had finished, it was off to class number one: Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. I wonder which part of magic I'm best at. Apparently each wizard has their own specialties and subspecialties in terms of magic, and that usually showed in how they did in their classes. I was curious as to which one I would do best at. I stopped worrying when I pushed open the door to the Transfiguration's classroom.

I was the first one in, and all I saw in there was a small tabby on the desk. I wasn't about to be fooled twice; that's the same tabby that was up on Big Ben with me, so I knew it was McGonagall. I mouthed a quick 'hello' to her, not expecting any acknowledgment.

I wound up sitting to Hermione's left, with Ron and Harry opposite me on the other side of the aisle.

"Where's the professor?" I heard Ron mumble. I didn't answer; obviously this was supposed to be some demonstration. Once everybody was situated, I saw McGonagall the cat, tense up, spring off the desk, and transform back to her normal self. Everybody except for myself was stunned, and we all applauded.

"Can anybody explain to the class what feat I have just performed?" McGonagall asked the class. Hermione's hand shot up straight into the air. "Yes, Miss Granger."

"You're an Animagus," Hermione answered. "You can transform into a specific animal, determined by your personality, character, and other traits."

"Very good, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor." We clapped, while the Slytherins all scowled.

"I heard somebody mutter something that sounded like "filthy Mudblood," and when I turned around to where the noise had come from, I was staring straight at none other than Draco Malfoy. I don't think he expected to be heard by anybody, so he stiffened up. I let a brief flash of fire go through my eyes before turning back. McGonagall was explaining the subtle art of Transfiguration, and I was starting to get somewhat bored. I'd seen stuff like this before watching Erasers transform, so I was fairly certain I would grasp it quickly.

"By the end of the week, I would like you all to be able to transfigure a book into a bird. To aid in this process, you will draw a diagram of a bird's wings, for that is the most difficult part to transfigure correctly." Wait, really? Score! I pulled out a fresh piece of parchment, and started working on it. McGonagall proceeded to lecture on the finer points of Transfiguration, but by the time the class was finished, I had finished my diagram of a bird's wing. I did it completely off memory, since I had wings myself, and it looked like something Leonardo da Vinci would have produced.

Hermione glanced over at my parchment, and let out a gasp. I turned to her, and grinned. Once class ended, she talked to me on the way to our next class, Potions. This one was with the House head of Slytherin, Professor Snape. I'd heard all sorts of colorful things about him from Fred and George, and wasn't looking forward to it. But, back to Hermione asking me about my drawing.

"How did you draw such a good diagram without any pictorial reference?" Big words, Hermione!

"I drew it from memory, Hermione."

"But that's impossible! Nobody can draw a wing that well from memory!" She took the piece of parchment out of my hands. "I mean, it's all here! A wing, exactly as one would see on a bird! How are you such a good artist?" I grabbed my drawing back.

"Wings are the only things I can draw well. Anything else, and it might as well have been a five year old Muggle drawing them." She mouthed a quick 'oh' to me, and took a quick left. We were at the Potions classroom.

As soon as I stepped into that classroom, the smell hit me like a truck. It smelled like the whitecoats' lab, only about a hundred times worse. The memories were running through my head, and I had doubled over up against a wall in pain.

"Jonathan? Jonathan!" Hermione, Harry, and Ron were all calling to me. I staggered out of the classroom, and sunk down against a wall, sweat running down my face, breathing hard. I didn't even notice when my three friends and the Professor appeared in front of me.

"_Legillimens._" Professor Snape had pointed his wand at me, and almost immediately after he cast the spell, he staggered back as if hit by an uppercut to the jaw. He got up, pointed his wand at me again, uttered a spell, and I felt the effects immediately: I couldn't smell a thing! Thank goodness… I looked up at Snape.

"How did you know?"

"Your mind was subconsciously Occluded, except for the scent, and the memory of the magnitude of pain that went with it. I merely negated your sense of smell until the end of class. Now get in before I take any points from Gryffindor."

I was back in the Gryffindor common room now that classes were all over. Herbology had been strange… if those sickos back at the Institute knew about all those plants and what each plant did, the scientists would be having a field day!

I turned my mind back to my homework. Herbology and Potions were both pretty easy; I finished the work in half an hour tops. Transfiguration I had already done, and the next day would be Defense against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Flying (with broomsticks… oh well).

I turned and saw Hermione constantly scratching something out on her parchment, and when I went over to see what that something was, I saw that it was the diagram of the wing. She had been failing miserably; the wing looked like something out of the Sunday morning paper that the whitecoats always carried around!

Before she could go ahead and ruin another piece of parchment, I grabbed the quill out of her hand, dipped it in the ink well, and drew the rough outline of a wing, going off the memory of what mine look like. When I finished with that, I drew faded feathers, light enough that she could see where they were, but dark enough that she could fill them in herself. Hermione turned to face me, looked back at her parchment, and then looked back at me.

"Thank you Jonathan, but… how do you draw those so well, and so easily?" I winked at her.

"Maybe one of these days you'll find out, or I'll tell you." With that, I walked away to a different part of the common room, to help Harry and Ron with their drawings, and the rest of the homework.

**Next chapter: Incendius charm gone horribly wrong, and broomsticks!**


	4. Chapter 4: I Blow Something Up I wish

**Fun times are about to ensue, dear readers. An Incendius charm goes horribly, horribly wrong… or does it? And I take a slight liberty with the Remembrall scene, making Jonathan intercept spells that an angry Malfoy casts at Harry by chucking fireballs at the bolts of light, and then to dodge an even angrier Malfoy's curses… this can only lead to Quiddich, Quiddich, and more Quiddich!**

**Disclaimer: ZZZZZzzzz…. Wha huh? Oh, right. I only own original characters/plotlines. Anything else belongs to whosoever owns whatever I don't.**

*****************************************************

Defense Against the Dark Arts sucked. I'd been looking forward to it also; I mean, where else do you hear about stuff like a wizarding duel? But the only thing that idiot Quirrell could do was stammer out semi-intelligible words. I didn't even bother listening. Instead, I doodled on my parchment, and wound up drawing myself in flight. Before Hermione could chance a glance at my parchment, I rolled up that sheet and took out a new one. She looked over immediately, but nothing was there. I let out a mental sigh.

After class was over, we went to our next one, Charms. This one would probably be better. But when I got into the class, I had to try very, very hard to not laugh. The teacher was there, standing on a pile of books. He was really, REALLY short. I mean, so short that I probably would have tripped over him. I kept my laughter in check, and instead took my seat. Ron, Harry, and Hermione all came in also.

"Good morning class," the gnome (I'll call him that) said. "I am Professor Flitwick, your Charms professor." Aw darn, he had a name. "Today, we are going to learn about charms that vary greatly in strength and effect, depending on the personality of the user. The first of these charms is the Incendius charm." Incendius? Now I'm interested. I leaned forward, hinging on the next words.

"The Incendius charm, in the hands of a wizard of average strength and normal demeanor, ignites whatever the caster's wand is pointed at when the charm is said." Professor Flitwick took a small plant off of his desk, and placed it on the ground in the middle of the desks, then pointed his wand at it. "_Incendio!_" The plant's leaf immediately burst into flame, spreading quickly along the plant. "Would anybody care to attempt this charm?"

I shot my hand in the air so fast that anybody else would have thrown their arm out. "Mister Parker, you seem very eager to test the charm. Alright, I suppose you may." He cast another spell at the destroyed plant, somehow returning it to its leafy green state. "Whenever you are ready."

I contemplated doing this without my wand via pyrokinesis, but realized that I would just be cheating myself. I stood up, thought about my desired result, and pointed my wand at the plant. "_Incendio!_"

The specific result of Flitwick's casting did not happen. Instead, the red gemstone in my vambrace started glowing, and a small ball of fire formed at the end of my wand. Flitwick was confused, the class was staring in awe, and next thing I knew the orb at the end of my wand turned into a beam of fire directed at the plant. The fire completely engulfed the plant and the pot, leaving nothing but a cracked pot and some ashes. Flitwick was stunned, and looked at my vambrace just as the glow vanished. I looked at the gem; the phoenix carved into it looked like there was fire running through the engraving. Wow…

"In all my years teaching at Hogwarts, nobody's Incendius charm has had such a powerful result." Flitwick shook himself from the reverie, and went on to the next charm. "The next spell we shall be working on…"

********************************************

I was walking alone on my way to the Flying class with Madam Hooch. I was making a small fire appear at the tips of my right fingers, and applying the flame to the gem on my vambrace. Nothing was happening. Absolutely nothing. But then, how did the Incendius charm make that happen?

I got out to the castle grounds, and was with Ron and Harry beside a broomstick. Madam Hooch gave us the rules and how-to speech: say "up!" to get the broom into your hand, kick off, don't go too fast, and everything else.

I went over to my broom, and Harry and I said "Up!" with perfect simultaneity. When the broom hit my hand, the red gemstone gleamed ever so slightly. What was up with that thing? I don't think I'll ever figure out this thing's secrets!

We were about to lift off into the air when Neville Longbottom, another one of the Gryffindor first years, accidentally took off too fast, spun out of control on his broom, and hit the ground, breaking his arm in the process. Madam Hooch went over to him, and proceeded to begin carrying the boy to the infirmary.

"If anybody so much as rises an inch off the ground, they will immediately be expelled from Hogwarts." With that, Neville and Madam Hooch were off to the infirmary. Malfoy traipsed over to where Neville had dropped something on the ground. He picked it up, and mounted his broom.

"Well, I guess Longbottom won't need this anymore, now will he?" Malfoy had his trademark sneer on his face.

"You give that back!" Harry called out, angry.

"You want it? Come and get it, Pottie!" Malfoy rose into the air, and Harry immediately took off after him. Oh great! If either of them falls, they'll die! I mounted my broom, and rose into the air after them, so that I could be a safeguard if either of them fell.

Harry chased Malfoy for a while, and feeling that he would be caught, Malfoy chucked the Remembrall (I just remembered what it was called) at the window, hoping to shatter it. Harry immediately sped after it, and caught the small sphere in a maneuver I could never have done on a broom, and had only accomplished once before, when I had to keep a semi-blind bird from flying into Big Ben. That wasn't fun.

Malfoy was more than a little peeved at this. "So, Pottie wants to play?" Malfoy pulled out his wand, pointing it at Harry. "_Flipendo!_" A beam of light shot forth from Draco's wand, headed straight for Harry. Without thinking, I intervened, creating a small fireball in my hand and aiming it straight for where the beam of light was going to be. I made a direct hit; the charm dissipated in a burst of flames. Malfoy looked stunned for a second, and then looked at me. My hand still had a small blaze in it, and I was holding on to the broomstick with one hand. Harry had already returned to the ground.

"So, Parkie wants to play too? Fine then! _Flipendo!_" Malfoy's charm was heading straight for me. I turned around, and started flying away, and at the last second I pushed off of my broom, doing a back-flip as the spell passed harmlessly underneath, and landing on my broom with two feet, the way I would ride a skateboard. He slung more spells at me, and I dodged the next one by jumping backwards, wrapping my hands around the broomstick, and flung myself over the top of it, intercepting the next spell with a fireball.

I grew tired of our little game. My aerial acrobatics were tiring me out slightly, and I was getting bored. That, and I could have sworn I saw Madam Hooch. I made a bigger fireball in my hand, and chucked it at Malfoy. I kept firing more and more until he was down on the ground. I landed, ran over to Malfoy, holding my blazing hand in front of his face.

"I win," I said, with much malice in my voice. I extinguished the flame, and smacked Malfoy in the nose with about ten percent of my strength. His nose broke, and blood gushed from it.

"Potter! Parker! Come with me." Uh-oh. Madam Hooch _was_ here. I panicked. Goodbye Hogwarts. Goodbye comfortable bed. Goodbye _home_.

Madam Hooch led us up to… the charms classroom? She knocked on the door, and opened it up. "Professor Flitwick, may I borrow Wood for a moment?" An older boy, who was probably a fifth or sixth year, stood up and came outside. Madam Hooch introduced us.

"Oliver, these two First Years are Harry Potter and Jonathan Parker. I believe that Mister Potter would make a good Seeker, while Mister Parker would do well as a Chaser." Seeker? Chaser? I was confused. Madam Hooch then relayed to Oliver what we had been doing on our brooms while she was taking Neville to the infirmary.

"I see," Oliver said. He turned to us. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Welcome to the Gryffindor Quiddich team, you two. Our first practice is tomorrow after classes. Don't be late." He walked back into the classroom, and I was left dumbfounded. Madam Hooch turned to Harry.

"You may go, Mister Potter. Mister Parker, Dumbledore would have a word with you." Oh no… I guess that this is where I got punished.

**************************************************

I was up in Dumbledore's office, looking around for him. I saw Fawkes sitting on his perch, and I went over to him.

"Hey Fawkes, how are you? Do you know where Headmaster Dumbledore is?" Fawkes didn't reply. Instead, he squawked, and flew behind me. I turned around, and there was Dumbledore, with Fawkes perched on his shoulder.

"Good afternoon, Mister Parker. It seems Madam Hooch has chosen you and Harry to be the only First Years in almost a century to make the Quiddich team."

"Thank you Headmaster. But, I have no idea what Quiddich is!" Dumbledore launched into a lengthy discussion on Quiddich and the rules, explaining what the places were. Madam Hooch had said I would make a good Chaser, so I paid special attention to that. When he was finished, I asked my other question. "I am honored that you gave me such an in-depth explanation, but I don't think that this is why you called me up here?"

"Very perceptive, Mister Parker. Five points to Gryffindor." I beamed. "The reason I called you up here has some relation to what happened when you cast the Incendius charm in class today. An effect that profound has not been seen since the time of Godric Gryffindor himself. May I ask how you performed such a feat?"

"Well," I started, uneasily, "it may have something to do with this." I held out my hand, and made a small fire in it. Dumbledore stared at my hand intently, and when I waved the flame away, his eyes betrayed the sense of disinterest that his face showed at the fact that my hand wasn't burned in the slightest.

"I see," Dumbledore said. "You have a great gift, Mister Parker. You can create and control flames, and no form of fire can harm you in any way. Use this gift wisely, for it is very dangerous. You may return to your common room." I nodded uneasily, and left his office. Now everybody was going to ask what Dumbledore had told me…

**************************************************

Back in the common room, Harry and I were assaulted with much praise about being First Year players on the Gryffindor Quiddich team. Some people were outraged, others were thrilled, but the overall attitude was good.

"So, Parker, we heard about your little acrobatics session," Fred said, coming up on my left side.

"And I heard about the fireballs," George said. "Care to help us make a few new joke items with fire?"

"Only if you give me a twenty percent cut on those items," I said. They agreed very quickly, and told me that we would begin working on them during the weekend. Ron quickly sought out Harry and me immediately after Fred and George left.

"Bloody hell mates, you're on the Quiddich team! First Years are _never_ on the Quiddich team! This is bloody brilliant!" I would never understand where British mannerisms came from…

"Let's just hope my accuracy is as good with the quaffle," I mumbled. "Oh yeah, Harry, if I see the Golden Snitch anywhere during the match, I'll make a small fiery arrow appear briefly in front of your glasses. Deal?"

"Don't even think about it Jonathan. I don't want any help in this." Just then, an owl came in through the common room window with a package in hand, dropping it in Harry's lap. At the same time, Fawkes appeared, and dropped an identical package into my lap. Ron just stared.

"Well?" Ron said, getting his voice back. "Open them up!" Harry and I peeled away the paper, revealing two very nice broomsticks. Engraved on the top of the handle was _Nimbus 2000_. I looked over at Harry's; they were identical. "Blimey! That's the new Nimbus 2000! Fastest broom ever made! Who gave them to you two?" I looked at the tag, and Harry looked at his.

"No name," we said simultaneously.

"Well whoever it was, they must obviously like you," Ron said. I looked at the clock, and realized I was feeling kind of tired. If I wanted to go flying the next morning, I would have to go to sleep.

"Well, I'm going to tuck in. Night." I got acknowledgment from Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, Percy, _and_ Oliver. I went up the stairs, put on my sweatpants and undershirt, and fell asleep quickly.


	5. Chapter 5: I Save Hermione

**Aaaand next chapter! We finally get to the Troll incident on Halloween, with the slight adjustment to make the troll somehow get up to the third floor. Don't worry, Quirrell still faints (I hate that bastard). Hopefully this scene turns out as well as the visualizations that played out in my imagination… anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am most certainly not J.K. Rowling; I'm male, thanks. And besides, I only own original characters and plot lines. Thank you, come again.**

**********************************************************

Hogwarts had been going very smoothly so far. Quiddich was definitely the coolest thing I'd ever done, and Oliver Wood was more than a little impressed with my accuracy and acrobatics on a broomstick. He even made me center Chaser! Then again, part of my skill has to do with my complete lack of fear when it comes to falling. I'd just be able to slow my fall to a point where I can safely land, thank goodness.

I'd helped Fred and George out with a few pranks already, not the least of which was boiling Snape's soup so that it burst straight up into his face, burning him during dinner. That was utterly hilarious. And then we made some really potent firecrackers that went off as soon as somebody came in the vicinity of them… I learned how to make proximity mines back at the Institute by looking at a schematic when I wasn't supposed to (how? I don't know) and just altered it to run on my own firepower. Needless to say Filch wasn't very pleased.

Now, Halloween had rolled around. I could only imagine what hilarious pranks Fred and George had in store for today. Making a giant burning effigy of Professor Snape? Maybe… but it was more likely to be a giant burning effigy of Voldemort, since that would definitely cause the most fright.

I was in Charms class with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. For some reason, they didn't really count Hermione as one of their friends, even though she constantly helped them on her homework (except for ones involving diagrams, they dumped those on me). Today, we were practicing the Wingardium Leviosa charm on feathers. Ron was failing miserably, and I was afraid he was going to shoot the feather into the wall, or hit somebody with it.

"How is anybody supposed to be able to do this?" Ron asked, frustrated.

"Oh for the love of," Hermione began. She looked over at Ron (who was across from her) and pointed her wand at his feather. "_Wingardium Leviosa._" Immediately, the feather lifted off of the ground, and hovered there for a good deal of time, moving subtly every time Hermione even slightly moved her wand.

"Very good, Miss Granger!" Professor Flitwick announced, elated. "Ten points to Gryffindor!" I smirked, Draco Malfoy scowled. Of course.

After class, I was walking with Harry and Ron, and they were muttering about Hermione. "She's such a showoff," Ron was saying. "Probably because she spends so much time with her head buried in a book. Honestly, she has no idea how to make friends!"

I heard somebody's footfalls quicken behind us. Uh-oh…

Hermione immediately burst through in between Harry and Ron, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She was running off as fast as she could so she could hide away somewhere and cry, and because it was the last class of the day she wouldn't get punished.

"Nice job Ron," I grumbled. "Now you went ahead and made her upset." He didn't answer. I don't think he wanted anybody to point out that maybe, just _maybe_, he had made a mistake.

*************************************************

We were on our way back up to the Gryffindor commons when the three of us saw Professor Quirrell running scared through the hallways.

"There's a Troll on the third floor! Just thought you'd want to know!" That was all Quirky Quirrell could let out before his eyes rolled back in their sockets and his turban-covered head hit the floor. The students around us immediately started murmuring, and Percy Weasley somehow appeared in front of us right then and there.

"Everybody, head up to your common rooms now. I'll get the professors to deal with the Troll," he said. I glanced over at Harry, who had a worried expression on his face.

"Ron, Jonathan, Hermione is still in one of the girl's lavatories crying. We need to go and warn her about the Troll!" I nodded, but Ron was being stubborn. Harry started running, and I dragged Ron along until he broke out into a run.

No sooner had we turned onto the third floor than I heard Hermione shriek. The Troll was already up here! It had Hermione pressed up against a dead-end corridor, back flat against a window. I didn't think about what I was doing; instead, I dashed as fast as I could in front of the troll, moved in front of Hermione, and put my arms out. I conjured two small orbs of fire and launched them at the Troll.

"Jonathan, Hermione, be careful!" Ron cried out. He didn't call it out fast enough; the Troll hit Hermione and me with a blow that sent us flying backwards… and straight through the window.

I quickly righted myself in mid-air, and figured out I had maybe thirty seconds before Hermione hit the ground at this rate. "Hermione!" I called out as loud as I could. "Spread eagle!" She did as she was told. I unclipped my robe, seeing as how there weren't any slits in the back. I angled myself downward, catching up to Hermione quickly.

I slipped one arm under her back, and the other under her legs so that I was cradling her in my arms.

"What are you doing!?" Hermione asked, frenzied.

"Just hold on tight and get ready for a wild ride!" I called out against the wind. Hermione pressed up tight against me, and started screaming her head off.

When we were maybe three hundred feet from the ground, I snapped open my wings, spreading them wide. About two hundred feet from, I angled myself forward, so that I could level out. By the time I was twenty feet from the ground, I was flying horizontally. The speed and momentum from the fall was fueling my flight, which was slightly more difficult given the screaming Hermione in my arms.

I flew up against the ground for a few moments without beating my wings before angling myself upward, and flapping my wings powerfully, started heading back to the third floor corridor we had been thrown out of.

"Jonathan, how… what… are those _wings_!?" Great, she just had to take a look, didn't she? This would be one hell of an explanation…

"I'll explain later Hermione, just hold on tight!" I flapped harder, going into a straight vertical climb, my left wing visible through the window if people were watching. I held Hermione close, and went in for a back flip. As we got close to the spire, I moved my arms so that my hands were grasping Hermione by the wrist. I flew in close to the broken window, and threw her inside ever so gently. I flew back up slightly, grabbed on to the castle walls, and tucked my wings in. Then, I dropped down, grabbing on to the window outcropping, and pulled myself up, to be met by the faces of twenty or so shocked students.

Hermione was staring at me, trying to see where the wings went. She probably guessed it was some non-verbal spell… boy would she be in for a rude awakening! I saw Professor McGonagall in the hallway; she'd probably seen my left wing as it passed by the window, and also my overly dramatic entrance. Great…

"Parker, Potter, Weasley, what is the meaning of this? The three of you were supposed to return to your houses immediately!" I was about to say something when Hermione intervened.

"Professor, it's my fault that they came up here. They were worried about me, and came to warn me about the Troll, and I thought I could stop it because I… read about them." Wait, she thought she could stop a Troll because she _read_ about them? My fireballs didn't even scratch it, and she thought she could stop it? Wow…

McGonagall peered at us from over her glasses. "Very well," she said. "Five points from Gryffindor for disobeying an order from a prefect, but twenty points for stopping the troll to Ronald Weasley, and another twenty points to saving a classmate from near certain death to Jonathan Parker." So thirty-five point gain total? Nice!

"However, the Headmaster would like to see you four in his office," McGonagall said. I was worried. He was going to make me tell them… he probably saw me from out his window… this day was getting worse and worse.

********************************************************

Up in Dumbledore's office, Harry, Ron, and Hermione was nervous, while on the outside I looked perfectly fine and relaxed, but that was just my putting on an act so they couldn't tell I was nervous out of my mind while waiting for Dumbledore to come back.

"Jonathan," Hermione began to ask, "how on earth did you… well… how do you have… um…"

"I think, Miss Granger, that Mister Parker would better be able to explain if he were given some time to arrange his thoughts into a comprehensible fashion, am I right Mister Parker?" I jumped up and turned around faster than humanly possible, and saw Dumbledore standing there. "While I am impressed that Harry and Ron were able to dispatch a Troll so easily, I myself would love to know how Mister Parker and Miss Granger survived that fall, and re-entered from the same window they fell out of."

I stood up, and walked up to the front of Dumbledore's office, where I had enough room for my wingspan. "What I am about to show you," I said in a cold, emotionless voice, "does not leave this room. You do not tell anybody, no matter what. Are we clear?" Once I had seen everybody nod, and turn their attention back to me, I took a deep breath, and unfurled my wings.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore all let out a gasp. Dumbledore was looking back between Fawkes, who was perched on his right shoulder, and myself, immediately noticing the similarity. Ron couldn't speak, Harry's jaw was wide open, and Hermione was getting up to come and inspect me.

"But how?" she started. "I mean, this is just some intricate transfiguration, right?"

"No, it's not, Hermione. My genes are 98% human. The other two percent… well, just look at Fawkes for your answer." The three of them looked at Fawkes, and if it were possible, their jaws would have fallen off of their mouths and started rolling around the floor.

"Blimey!" Ron said, recovering his wits. "You mean that some human and a phoenix… er, gave birth to you?" I immediately pulled my wings in slightly, walked over to Ron, and smacked him upside the head.

"No you idiot! Not even close!" I recounted to everybody the tale of my abduction from the hospital, being injected with the phoenix genes, being tortured mercilessly, and the incident in the incinerator.

"This explains why I found you on the highest parapet in Hogwarts, with no broomstick to attest to your means of getting up there," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Yeah, it does," I said quietly. Would they still accept me for who I am, knowing that I'm a freak? Would I still be allowed to go to Hogwarts, even though I'm not human?

"Dumbledore, what if I'm not really a wizard, and can only do magic because of the phoenix genes in me?"

"My child, you are a wizard. Even if I removed the phoenix genes from you and replaced them with normal human ones, you would still be a wizard. After all, if the magic was only from your phoenix genes, then the only spells you would have been able to cast would be fire charms, like Incendius and Fiendfyre." I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

Dumbledore straightened up. "I believe you all may return to your commons now. Jonathan, if you wish to fly back, then be my guest." He opened up the window so that I could go out of it.

"Oh Jonathan could you take me flying again, since this time I won't be fearing for my life?" Hermione was rocking back and forth on her heels. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes, and left. I sighed, beckoning her to come over. She let out a squeal (what the heck?) and came over quickly. I picked her up like I had before, and jumped out the window, angling downwards, snapping open my wings, and leveling out with the momentum. Hermione was having the time of her life, as I could tell from the amazed look on her face. Then again, how often do you get to flying with somebody that has giant _wings_ growing out of their back? Not very, mind you.

When we got close to the Gryffindor common room, I put her down on the balcony of the common room the same way I had gotten her in the window earlier. She immediately dashed into the common room. I flew somewhat away, so that I could see but not be recognized. Of course, Fred and George just had to come out to see how she'd gotten in that way. I'm pretty sure they saw me before I could duck up, because I saw the two of them flying after me on brooms! Just what I needed!

I flew away quickly, launching a fireball at each of them. They dodged it, and I proceeded with various aerial maneuvers that I dare the best Quiddich players to recreate. Fred and George stayed on my tail, so I ducked into a cloud, and while inside, tucked in my wings to go in freefall.

I looked up while doing multiple acrobatic flips in midair; Fred and George had no idea where I'd gone off. Time for fun… I snapped open my wings and flew upward blindingly fast. I created a spiral of fire in front of me, so all the twins saw was a pair of crimson and gold wings and a cone of fire. The two of them rolled out of the way just in time, and so to reward them I decided I might as well show myself. They'd figure it out soon anyways.

I dive-bombed down to where the two of them were, pulling out of it just before hitting them. "Hey guys, what's up?" Their mouths dropped open lightning fast. "Would you stop looking at me like that?" I launched a small fireball at each of them, barely missing Fred's hair. Damn!

"Blimey, mate!" Fred said. "You can fly!"

"If that notion didn't hit you yet, then you're officially stupid," I said. I looked around, seeing if anybody had noticed the strangeness. Nobody, thankfully. "Ask Harry, Ron, or Hermione about my story, because I certainly don't want to repeat it. Now, I must be off for a leisurely flight." I turned around to leave them behind… but Fred and George wouldn't leave me alone.

"Is that just some really good Transfiguration spell?" "No!"

"Are those feathers real?" "Yes, you idiot! Didn't you see the one that fell out a minute ago?"

"What are you?" "Mostly human, part phoenix. Question answered? Okay!" I was getting tired of this. I dropped down onto a parapet, tucked in my wings, and closed my eyes, wishing that I were back in the common room. I heard a familiar sound of flames, and suddenly I heard a ton of gasps around me. Huh? I opened my eyes… I was back in the common room! Oliver Wood came up to me, amazed.

"Parker, what did you do just then?"

"Um… I was somewhere around Hogwarts, and I closed my eyes really wishing I was back in the common room, and next thing I knew I was standing here."

"You do realize you entered in a blaze of fire, the same way Dumbledore's phoenix does?"

"Wait, what?" I replied. "Then that means… oh my god, I can fire travel!" I closed my eyes, wishing I were behind Wood. When I opened my eyes, I saw him turn around. He had a smile playing across his face.

"I can see how this would help in Quiddich," Wood said just as Fred and George came in.

"You won't believe what we saw Parker doing!" Fred said. No no no!

"Yeah, he was—" I cut them off with a quick fireball to each of them. "Bloody hell, Jonathan! What are you doing?" I didn't answer. I just kept throwing small fireballs at them. They were running and ducking like mad, and it was really funny. Finally, Percy came up behind me with his wand.

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" My legs immediately snapped together, and I tripped and fell. Fred and George bounded over to me, and found the slits in my shirt. My hands were firmly pressed on the ground, waiting to spring the trap.

"Check this out, he's got—" George never got to finish, because right then a small pillar of fire rose in front of him, and an identical one appeared in front of Fred. I used my fire to break through the charm on my legs (how, I don't know) and stood up.

"Would you two please keep quiet? People are trying to study, and I don't want to light both of your heads on fire to keep your mouths shut!" I stormed off, up to the First Year rooms to do my homework, where nobody could bother me.


	6. Chapter 6: Jinxed Bludgers? No Fun, Man!

**Sorry for not updating in for-freaking-ever. A strange combination of writer's block, breaking up, falling for another girl maybe two weeks later, injuring myself, and a whole ton of other stuff kind of makes up for that. *ducks a couple of shoes* DON'T HURT THE AUTHO—*gets hit by some girl's high heeled shoe… in the crotch* Whoever threw that… is going… to… pay… dearly… *collapses***

**Disclaimer: I only own my original character. Happy now? Good!**

*****************************************************************

"If your hair is rather long, you must tie it back, because today's potion can be somewhat… volatile, if prepared improperly." I let out a snicker as Hermione pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Snape leered at me. "That includes you, Mr. Parker." I scowled, then did what I was told, and pulled my hair into a ponytail. Ron, Harry, Neville, and others were all holding back snickers at seeing my crimson-gold hair in a ponytail. While I enjoyed having it long enough to hang two inches above my shoulders, I didn't enjoy the ponytail. "You have an hour and a half to brew the potion correctly. Begin."

Want to know what sucks? Double Potions. Immediately after breakfast. With the Slytherins. With Neville Longbottom in the class. Oh joy… at least I was paired with Hermione.

The night before, it took some major blackmailing to make sure Fred and George (or Gred and Forge, as they called themselves sometimes) didn't spell my secret out. I didn't like the fact that people were learning what I was, and was slightly afraid that eventually I would be taken right on back to the Institute. I don't want to go back there, no matter what.

But anyways, back to the matter at hand: double Potions. Malfoy had already tried to ruin our potion one time, and he was about to slip something weird into Hermione's and my potion—flower petals, of some sort. When he failed this time, the next attempt he tried to shove some Wolfsbane inside.

After attempt number three, I got fed up. Today's potion needed to be kept at a _very_ specific temperature for proper brewing, so I knew exactly how to sabotage Malfoy, the self-proclaimed Slytherin Prince.

I saw the fire underneath his cauldron, and surreptitiously slipped my hand underneath the desk, after whispering to Hermione that I was going to get back at Draco. I made small motions with my hand that to anybody else would have seemed very much like the magic one would see in a Muggle movie, but in actuality I was causing havoc with the fire under Draco's cauldron. I shrank the fire down so low that the potion's temperature dropped dramatically, but Malfoy was getting some monkey brains—or something similar—to try and drop it into my cauldron again. I glared at him, sending the poor boy scurrying back to his table, where he noticed that his cauldron's flames were dangerously low. He yelled at Blaise Zabini, who was his partner, and once Draco pulled out his wand to (probably) cast an Incendius charm, I finished the prank off.

Before Malfoy could cast the charm, I turned my hand so that my palm was facing upward, then made a three-fingered claw gesture with my hand and pulled up, causing the small flames at the bottom of Malfoy's cauldron to grow immensely, forming a small pillar of fire around the cauldron. Snape noticed what was going on, and reacted immediately by pulling out his wand.

"_Aguamenti!_" A large stream of water shot out of Snape's wand, but before it hit the pillar I moved my hand slightly so that the flames redirected themselves into a beam, evaporating all of the water that Snape sent at it. Luckily my vambrace was covered by my robe's sleeve, or I would have been ousted pretty quickly.

Snape kept up the futile effort for another, oh, thirty seconds before I decided to save the day. I dashed over to the cauldron, and as if I had no involvement I held my hands towards the fire, coalescing the flames into a small sphere in my hands. I condensed the sphere until it vanished completely, then noticing that Malfoy's fire was out, let a small beam of flame leap from my right hand to start his fire back up.

Snape didn't suspect a thing.

***********************************************************

Of course, whenever a day starts off _that_ good, it can only go downhill from there. The good news is that the downhill started after all the classes were over. The bad news? It happened during Quiddich practice.

We were all out on the pitch, and the Chasers were getting a nice workout courtesy of Wood, Fred, and George. Wood kept on complimenting my abilities as a Chaser, probably because my aim was spot-on for pretty much every single shot. Fred and George were getting better with the Bludger hits, and I was having a harder time dodging them. Eventually, the two of them were doing so well I constantly had to hang off my Nimbus 2000 by one hand, and throw the Quaffle with the other.

And then… it all went awry. Fred had just hit the Bludger over to George, who passed it back to Fred, who… you get the idea. Anyways, the chain went on for quite some time, and when George finally hit the Bludger over to me, something went wrong.

I dodged the Bludger alright, but that wasn't the problem. The stupid thing turned around, and came right back towards me! I ducked, I dodged, I weaved, but the stupid thing came back at me. Oliver pulled out his wand and cast a spell on the ball, but it just bounced off and the Bludger kept chasing me.

"Somebody hexed the Bludger! It's not going to stop going after Jonathan until we find who hexed it!" Oh great, so that meant I had to run away! Well run away I shall… after all, I did it for a whole year.

I immediately turned skyward, going higher and higher. The rest of the team was desperately trying to search out the jinxer at the Quiddich pitch while I was flying away from the Bludger. Fred and George turned away to try and help me… but the Bludger broke through their Beater bats. Who knew it could do that?

Lost in the thought, the Bludger almost ran straight into me. _Crap!_ I thought. _Skyward I go!_

I tilted myself straight up, rising as high into the sky as I could go. I knew that I would be able to survive up here, due to my bird genes… but I wasn't so sure about anybody else. I kept an eye out for other people, but didn't notice the danger until it was too late.

The Bludger came at me from out of a cloud. The stupid thing rammed into my chest, knocking the wind out of me with a blow that would have broken anybody else's bones… and knocking me from my broom.

I was plummeting down to earth, and now had to quickly think of a new method of not getting killed, because by the time I had realized what was happening I was within view of my teammates.

_Think, Jonathan, think! Oh hell, it's not going to do me any good anyways. A pillar of fire would just scorch the field, not slow me down… guess I've got no choice huh?_

I took a deep breath, and saw myself nearing the ground. I moved myself into a position far more suitable to pick up momentum, and ripped off my Quiddich uniform, letting it fall to the ground, and revealing the slits in my clothing.

"Parker, what are you doing?!" Wood yelled out. "I can't be losing a team member!" I shut him out, and sent a fireball his way for good emphasis, as if to say 'relax, I know what I'm doing, so don't interfere'.

I was getting closer to the ground. Now or never… I unfurled my crimson-gold wings, and leveled out, only to take off into the sky. I flapped my wings powerfully, flying higher until they could hardly see me, reveling in the stunned looks on everybody's faces. The wind was rushing against my face, and I felt… free. _This is where I'm meant to be,_ I thought to myself. But now I had to return to practice, and hopefully escape everybody's questioning without getting completely destroyed in the process. This was not going to be fun…

I swooped down, surrounding myself in a bright sheath of fire. As I neared the ground, I pulled up, and let the blaze of fire cover over my wings and body, making me appear like an angel of retribution. I followed up with a pillar of fire, inside of which I pulled in my wings, and landed back on the ground standing up normally. The only thing that could attest to the blaze earlier was a small glint coming from my vambrace.

Oliver Wood glared at me, as well as the two other members of the team that didn't know my secret.

"You have some explaining to do, bird-boy."

**********************************************************

**I didn't feel like writing the conversation… too long. So I'm gonna skip past it. Yeah, I'm lazy. There a problem?**


End file.
